A Hard Look at Modern Slavery

One of the most important books relating to women’s health is Half the Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The book is viscerally painful and a clarion call to the world  to empower women and girls and end the gross injustices against them. The depictions in Half the Sky of the oppression of women and girls in developing countries around the globe do  not gloss over the harsh realities of sex trafficking, brutality, and tyranny through systematic rape – all of which affect the health of women at the deepest levels.

But, Half the Sky also offers stories of hope and inspiration by showing how even a little help can dramatically transform the lives of women and girls.  This book provides evidence that if women have the opportunity, they can raise the standards of living for their families and their communities. If women and girls are educated, healthy, and able to live without fear of violence and oppression, they can help stop the vicious cycle of global poverty.

Right here in the U.S. cases of  these human rights violations have been reported in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and some U.S. territories.  By some accounts, as many as 300,000 children in America are victims of sex trafficking each year.  Nicholas Kristof recently wrote an article about the major trafficking problem in the U.S. involving “homegrown American runaways.” These are 12- or 13-year-old girls from troubled homes who are lured by pimps into sexual slavery and are threatened with violence if they try to escape.

This week, the U.S. State Department releases “Trafficking in Persons” -- a comprehensive account of the efforts of governments worldwide to combat human trafficking. The U.S. government uses this annual report as a key diplomatic tool to encourage partnerships and increase determination to fight forced labor, sexual exploitation, and other forms of modern-day slavery.

Half the Sky and “Trafficking in Persons” are not the casual beach reads of the summer. Instead, they are two of the most important chronicles of our times.

The Power of Nursing Science

Nursing is a discipline that affects people one-by-one, community-by-community, and nation-by-nation. As nurses, we take seriously our moral commitment to the world to work toward the health and well-being of individuals and populations.

I recently participated in an initiative called the Global Advancement of Practice and Research in Nursing (GAPRIN), which was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).  I was one of two leading U.S. academic nurses invited to travel with a delegation to Bangladesh where nurses, for the first time, were invited into the boardroom to join discussions with health care leaders from around the word. Our purpose was to empower and catalyze nurse leaders to guide others in creating an evidence based culture and a more person centered approach to health care.  We met with governmental officials, academicians, and clinicians to discuss the importance of building strong nurse training programs in research and clinical practice that evolve into lifelong career paths for nurses. The outcome was remarkable.

In developing nations like Bangladesh, the concept of nursing research is novel, even unheard of. After hearing about the significance of nursing research in producing the evidence for quality care, the Executive Director of ICDDR,B (International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh), Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, committed $25,000 for competitive proposals in nursing research – the first such funding for nursing research in Bangladesh. The NINR and the U.S. Department of State will support nurses in Bangladesh in developing research programs as well as in empowering nurses to use evidence in their practice.

Together we will start to build an aspect of nursing that is critical for Bangladesh and for every country in the world – the capacity for nursing science.